In a heartbeat (Rewrite)
by SilverandRed
Summary: When Skeleton King revives the probe, the probe decides to finish what he had originally set out to do: Destroy the Super Robot, and assimilate all mechanical life until they have become one. A sequel to Ghost in the Machinder. Ratings may go up.
1. Beginning

_A/N: Hello, and thank you for clicking on this fic! ^w^ Years ago, someone gave me this idea, and I wrote the first chapter, but left it hanging. As promised, I'll start rewriting some of my older fics, and this will be first because I've pretty much a clear idea on what's going to happen. Again, I apologize if any characters seem to OOC, because exams have already started, and this was written in quite a short amt of time. I will continue this after my O levels, which is around 3 weeks-1 month from now. Since this fic is basically meant to be a second 'ghost in the machinder" ep, I'm going to retain the way as to how the characters originally felt during that ep, so yea, please pardon if some of them seem too mean, etc. Also, although this fic is generally targetted to Sprx/Antauri's relationship and Chiro/Antauri's r/s, there will be Spova and other moments between the characters, especially Super Robot/Hyperforce (also since there was a really huge Spova moment in the original episode, so I wanted to explore it here as well). Also, if you read the original story in my profile, I did try my best to retain the same information! Lastly, Any feedback or review will be greatly appreciated! With that said, please enjoy!_

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Chiro sighed contentedly as he leaned back against the office chair in his room- a Christmas present that Nova bought for him last year, "to promote a better back growth", as she had said- that sat safely inside the torso of the Super Robot. The rest of the team had long retired to their respective chambers, but being the hyperforce leader, Chiro felt obliged by responsibility to stay up later to complete the paperwork Gibson had left for him just hours earlier. The lamp on his desk only provided a sparse amount of white light, but he was perfectly content with that, too.

'Astrophysics,' Chiro thought to himself fondly before scribbling down the answer to the final question. 'Now this is one thing that I absolutely wouldn't mind staying up for.'

He puts down his pen and lets out a tired sigh once the last sum has been completed. He arose from his chair, ignoring the squeaking protests it gave, while stacking the mountain of worksheets neatly onto a corner of the desk for Gibson to collect tomorrow morning. Yawning, the teenager then proceeded to the bathroom with heavy, exhausted, footsteps. He caught a glimpse of the digital clock on the way. _1:17am._

After splashing cool water on his face and brushing his teeth thoroughly, Chiro crept up to bed and snuggled under his covers. The moonlight in the sky was hidden by dark, heavy clouds, but the city lights glistened with enough luminance to replace a thousand moons. The teenager smiled in the comfort of his bed before his eyelids got heavier and heavier, that he drifted off into a deep, peaceful slumber.

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The first thing Antauri noticed was how absolutely mechanical the man looked. No human face could be that pale, no human face could have such emotionless eyes, nor such an unmoving smile permanently etched across his features. The man just stood there, absolutely still, staring at the silver monkey with a gaze that could burn.

Antauri shuddered, turned his heels and leaned back against the wall behind him, his eyes widened with confusion. The man did not move an inch. Instead, he stood rooted to the ground, judging every single one of the silver primate's movements with his green, unblinking eyes. He continued to smile.

Who was this person? How did he manage to sneak past the robot's security? And more importantly, _where was he_?

Antauri took a quick glance around his surroundings. There were meters of wires and insulated cables littering the floor, some tangled up into one huge mess. Corkscrews, presser bars, and other parts of machinery were strewn untidily across a small, metal table, dimly lit by a lamp hanging precariously above it. To his right, there was a red metallic door, tightly locked by several chains, with a bright, crimson sign blinking with the words across it:

OPERATION ROOM 

The man's smile grew wider at Antauri's distress.

"Machines do not have souls," he finally spoke, running his fingers through his short, neatly combed hair, "we are merely autonomous gadgets powered by electrons and neutral charges, along with fuels and hydrocarbons, and of course, mechanical clogs."

The familiar phrase rang a bell in the silver monkey's head as he bared his fangs at the figure in front of him. "You're wrong," Antauri said quietly, "someone like you could never understand how a machine truly works."

The man laughed evilly. Antauri activated his ghost claws, and readied himself in a battle stance, anticipating an attack.

"Oh, no, Antauri," the man's smile grew wider, " _you're_ the one who's wrong."

A sharp green light assaulted the silver primate's eyes as it flooded the room, blinding him momentarily. Antauri struggled to keep them open, lifting up an arm to block out the intense glare in front of him. He could make out an outline of a round, metallic shape as the man's body started to metamorphose into something larger . The light prevented him from getting too close as he took a small step forward. A purple, glowing sickle formed in his hand as he flung fiercely it towards the direction of the light.

The sickle almost immediately came flying back into the his direction, which Antauri had barely dodged.

The man—now probe- laughed again, louder this time, as the glare slowly died down. In front of the silver primate no longer stood a human figure, but a robot, several feet taller than he was. The robot was about the same height as TV monster, with a computer screen located in the middle of its torso. He had black, sharp claws for arms, two long, antenna sensors protruding from its head, a big, broad body and was floating about two feet above the ground. The face on the screen had neatly cut hair, and a masculine jaw with sharp, angled eyes . He smirked, daring Antauri to attack again, silently mocking him.

The silver monkey growled, but kept his hands to himself.

"The Skeleton King has given me so much power," his voice is lower, deeper, and much more confident, "I vow to this master, that one day, I will destroy the Super Robot. With the secret from _your_ mechanical brain, of course."

The probe floated closer to Antauri. He closed his fingers around the primate's neck and tilted his chin upwards, until both were staring eye to eye. Antauri glared at him, trying to break out of the strong grip that held him in place. Thinking quickly, he used his tail and transformed it into a spinning, sharp bladed fan, and brought it towards the probe's arm. Although it didn't cut through the arm, the probe dropped him in surprise at the silver monkey's sudden advancement. Antauri quickly unleashed another two, larger sickles from his hand as he leapt back and landed momentarily on the wall, flinging them at full force towards the enemy.

The two sickles bounced harmlessly off the probe's metallic body without even leaving a scratch. Antauri snarled, preparing to use close quarter combat before the probe moved a step backward and smiled at the primate.

"I cannot feel pain," he stated, grinning, while picking up a screwdriver from the nearby table, "none of your attacks will hurt me."

"After all, I am a machine, _just like you."_

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"Amazing," Chiro breathed in, unable to take his eyes off the scene, "simply... amazing."

Initially, he had woken up in the middle of the night due to a strange ebbing in the power primate from within him. Confused, Chiro had proceeded to Antauri's room for advice, only to find the other monkeys to already be inside.

"Yea... no one should be able to do that." Otto agreed, stunned. "I didn't know robot monkeys were capable of something like _this!"_

"It's scientifically impossible." Gibson raised an eyebrow, rubbing his chin, "this has to be resulting from some sort of telekinetic control from within."

"Yea, thank you Captain Obvious for the news," Sprx scoffed, smirking, "we all know that now."

Gibson was about to retort back at his red primate before Nova jumped between the two males, giving warning glares to both of them, which effectively silenced her brothers. Outside, thunder rumbled loud enough to shake the skies, and lightning cracked, tearing through the trees of Shuggazoom.

"Err, guys," Otto spoke nervously, rubbing the back of his helmet, "Antauri's transformers are activating in his sleep... shouldn't we wake him up?"

Nova stared at the unconscious silver primate, a small frown crossing her features. "Not just in his sleep," she observed, "he's only about twenty percent fully recharged, so this _can't_ be happening."

After Chiro had brought back his mentor into this new body, the hyperforce discovered that Antauri had to deactivate fully to restore his system every once a fortnight, to ensure that the silver monkey remained at tip top condition for battle. At first, Gibson would stay a night or two at Antauri's room to confirm that his body would be fully recharged by morning, but Antauri soon got used to the recharging process and had kindly declined Gibson's help after that, saying that the scientist had to get an adequate amount of rest for the next day.

"I'll wake him up," Chiro offered, standing in front of Antauri and shaking his mentor's shoulders gently, "hey, Antauri, you okay?"

The silver primate didn't budge. His deep blue orbs were still empty and the purple ghost claws never stopped reappearing and appearing. Chiro was starting to worry.

Suddenly, Antauri's pupils blinked into life. First, his eyes were wide with fear - _for only a brief moment-_ and then he saw a human figure standing in front of him. Antauri instantly sprang up from his bed and glared at his leader.

"Monkey Mind Scream!"

The blue energy rings hit the teenager right in his chest as he was sent flying backwards to the opposite end of the room. Chiro felt the air being knocked out of his lungs as he landed roughly on the wall with enough force to create a dent. He fell to the floor, groaning in pain.

"Antauri?" Chiro managed to croak out, sitting against the wall shakily.

Upon hearing Chiro's voice, Antauri was snapped back to his senses as he stared unbelievably at the injured teenager in front of him. Realizing what he had done, he rushed to Chiro's side, swinging the boy's arm across his shoulder gently, supporting Chiro's weight on his body.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized, voice filled with remorse, "I thought that I had seen... someone else."

Nova is the first to run up to the two leaders. She placed her hand gently on Chiro's chest, where the attack had landed. "Are you alright?"

"I've handled worse." The boy winks back with his trademark grin, assuring the rest of the worried monkeys. "Um, Antauri, who did you mistake me for just now?"

"I..." The silver monkey blinked as he struggled to describe his nightmare. The memory was now so blurred and no matter how much he scoured his brain to look for the correct words, he couldn't find any. "I... can't remember."

"You _can't_ remember?" Sprx raised an eyebrow, slightly skeptical at his brother's strange behavior. "You just hit the kid with one of your most powerful attacks, and now you're saying you can't remember?"

"He was a man, or a robot, around his thirties," Antauri tried to explain calmly, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration. Even though he felt immensely guilty at what he did to Chiro, he couldn't waver, _not now._ "He sounded strangely familiar, but I sense that we have encountered him before, during our pursuit for the dark one worm."

"Well, it's just a dream, right?" Sprx laughed nervously, trying to lighten the heavy mood, "everyone has weird dreams."

"This isn't just any dream, Sprx," Chiro replied sternly, "Antauri's transformers were activating in his sleep- I mean, it must be serious."

Sprx puts his hand up in front of him, motioning for Chiro to slow down.

"Okay," he said slowly, clearing his throat, "Come on guys. We've established before that machines do have souls, but being able to _dream?"_ He pointed to his own helmet to prove his point. "The only reason us robot monkeys are still able to dream is because of our organic brains! It's practically _impossible_ for someone like Antauri to dream! I mean, he's fully mechanical now, isn't he? I don't want to sound like Gibson here, but no more chemical reactions in the brain and all that, remember?"

There was silence in the room. Nobody spoke for a while, as they let Sprx's words sink in.

Gibson, ever the pragmatist, is the first to reluctantly break the deafening silence. "Sprx's theory is right, as much as I hate to admit it," he spoke slowly, "it is... scientifically impractical for artificial intelligence to have dreams." He stared apologetically and walked toward his silver brother. "I'm sorry, Antauri, but maybe it was a malfunction. If you may allow me to examine-"

"Hey!" Chiro defended, with small traces of anger in his tone, stepping in front of his mentor, crossing his arms sternly, "let's not talk about Antauri like he's a machine! He's a living being like the rest of us, so why treat him any differently?"

"Chiro's got a good point," Otto pointed out, smiling, oblivious the teenager's dissatisfaction, "I mean, it's not like the rest of us are that far off."

Nova lets out a small sigh and rests her arm gently on the teenager's hand, trying to calm him down. "Chiro," she said softly, "let's get to the matter at hand instead." She then turned towards her silver brother, who was being shielded safely behind the teenager's back. She knew that even though Antauri's face barely showed any emotion, her brother was truly feeling touched on the inside.

Nova cleared her throat. "So, what else did you see in your dream?"

The silver primate hesitated for a moment. "He did mention something about being fully mechanical." Antauri replied, thinking hard.

"Well, who do we know who's fully made of metal?" Otto asked, "I call dips on Scrapperton!"

"There is Krinkle's inventions," Gibson suggested, "and TV monster. But using the method of elimination, we should have already destroyed them all."

"Gibson's right," the green monkey nodded enthusiastically, "maybe the dream was a warning, or something?"

"It could, but what is it telling us?" Nova asked thoughtfully, standing up straighter, "did he say anything else, Antauri?"

It started to rain hard. It started falling in sheets and deluging the city, beating down mercilessly on the walls of the Super Robot. Antauri contemplated for a moment, deep in concentration.

"There is one more thing," he began to speak slowly, "he said that he will be arriving in Shuggazoom in about five hours."


	2. Doubt, Secret

**I: Doubt**

After lugging around over a couple of dozen of these missiles, Sprx had to admit that he was starting to feel exhaustion settling into his limbs. Upon lifting the next missile and and inserting it into the robot's rocket launcher, he felt his arms and especially his back grow weary at the constant exertion. However, he didn't let his body dissuade him, and with a grunt he started carrying another set of ammunition over to the next launcher and pushed it in with all his might.

A new kind of weakness spread along Sprx's body as he turned his back to reload the robot's weapons, but instead of physical, this weakness was purely psychological. It was fear.

But why wouldn't he be afraid? Any sane person would feel frightened, and Sprx was pretty sure that he was still holding onto his sanity even after all their crazy adventures through the cosmos. Planet after planet, city after city, all just to stop the Dark one worm.

 _Still,_ Sprx considered grimly- even if he was just as glad as everyone else that the team was still complete- _I just can't ignore what happened when Mandarin came and manipulated everyone's fear during that night._ Sprx clenched his eyes shut tightly, growling to himself, and tried to suppress the seed of doubt that had sprouted in his mind after what he and Nova had been through in the yellow tunnels of the robot.

"Pass me the wrench, will you?"

Nova's voice snapped him out of his thoughts as Sprx turned around sharply, only to find the female kneeling down in front of one of the computers, extending an arm behind while her while trying to focus on the rewiring.

The red primate stayed silent. He was fully aware that nobody else harbored any doubts about Antauri's new body- in fact, it was quite the exact opposite. But even though Sprx did love his brother with all his heart, he just couldn't help these feelings that have resurfaced after so long. Hence, he tried to hide them under a facade of nonchalance and badly-cracked jokes, hoping that everything would return back to normal if he pretended that they weren't there. For now, nobody has seen through him, _yet._

"Sprx?" Nova calls out once more, her metallic hand still extended toward him.

The red primate hurriedly ran toward a toolbox and dug out a wrench, handing it to Nova. Hearing a small mutter of thanks from the other, Sprx smiled softly and went back to his own duties, replenishing battle supplies so that they would be prepared for an upcoming attack.

Nobody spoke for a few moments. Only the metallic clanking of Sprx's feet resounded loudly throughout the room as both monkeys were busy with their work.

After about a good fifteen minutes, Nova stood up and wiped the sweat from her forehead, grinning in satisfaction at her hard work while watching the computer turn on successfully. No more glitches, no more static, and no more of Otto's whining about how badly messed up the system was after their last battle.

"So," the gold primate spoke, turning towards Sprx, breaking the silence between them, "have you been alright lately?"

The question made Sprx stand up straighter. He mustered the most confident smile he could. "Yea, why'd you ask?"

Unconvinced, Nova folded her arms and stared at the other. "Well," she began slowly, "your behavior in Antauri's room was... weird, to say the least."

Swallowing a gulp quietly, Sprx tried to firm his conscience. He despised keeping up a false front, _especially_ in front Nova, and even more so when they were already in a relationship- a relationship that he had fought so _hard_ to keep.

"I was half asleep." A blatant, flat out, lie. "So I wasn't fully aware of what I was saying, okay?"

Nova narrowed her pink eyes in suspicion, but said nothing. Sprx felt tension growing thick between them as the silence dragged on for what seemed like _hours._ Nova had always used this tactic whenever she felt that something wasn't right- not saying anything and letting the silence pressurize the other to confess. It was very effective, to say the that he couldn't escape the golden primate's watch, Sprx inhaled deeply and continued.

"Look," he started, choosing his words carefully, "maybe I wasn't the most considerate guy around. I love Antauri as a brother as much as you do," he swallowed, nervous. "But don't you feel that..."

The red primate's voice grew softer, weaker as he trailed off, muttering something inaudible. Nova raised one eyebrow and lifted her hand up to her right ear.

"Come again?"

Sprx inhaled deeply and steeled himself for what he was about to say next.

"I think that Antauri's presence on the team may cause more trouble than... good?"

His voice was barely above a whisper as he looked down guiltily, unconsciously wrapping his tail around his legs. Catching a glimpse of Nova's confused expression, he continued to explain, hesitantly.

"When Mandarin came," he said, unable to bring himself to look at Nova in the eye, "that night when I became blind, and you had lost your courage. We were trying to find a safe place to hide, and then Antauri showed up. We all knew that he wasn't himself, but Nova," Sprx lifted his head up, his eyes pleading, "he almost killed us. And I..." his voice wavered slightly. "I was _barely_ able to protect you. _"_

For the second time, silence wrapped itself around the two primates as Nova let Sprx's words sink in. She stayed quiet, and contemplated about his comment. Memories of that night flooded her brain, and the golden warrior had to admit, that even until this day, she still remained terrifiedof them.

"But Sprx," she spoke up finally, looking at the other squarely in the eye,"what's done is done, and let's put the past behind us. Nothing like that will ever happen again."

Nova's casual dismissal at her brother's actions made his eye twitch. "How can you be so sure?" The sudden agitation in Sprx's voice surprised them both. "He almost _killed_ us, Nova, and you and I both know how powerful the silver monkey is." He paused. "If something like that were to happen again next time, I think we wouldn't be so lucky anymore."

"Sprx, listen to me," Nova tried to reason, "what happened that night, nobody had expected it, all of us had our guards down. And Mandarin's control over Antauri only succeeded because we couldn't defend ourselves, so-"

Sprx cut her off, holding his hand up. "The probability of history repeating itself, Nova, is still very high. Evil is still out there, we're in the middle of a _war_. And who knows, the silver monkey might very soon be manipulated again."

Getting rather impatient herself, the golden warrior shot a small glare at the pilot, frowning. She knew that once Sprx had set his mind onto something, he would be too stubborn to let it go. "Now you're just being ridiculous. If I had known about the lack of trust you had in your teammates earlier, I would have thought twice about dating you."

Speaking about the events leading up to the soul of evil had always been a sensitive topic for Sprx, and everyone had avoided talking about it, until now. Unable to conceal the hurt look in his eyes, he looked away in shame. In that accursed pit of doom, with Mandarin and Valina, that was the first and last time he had ever seen Nova – _the love of his life_ \- cry, and he had never been able to forgive himself, not even when she had long forgiven him.

Nova's expression softened as she slowly approached Sprx. "Maybe try having more faith in Antauri...?" Her voice was higher, more hopeful. "After all, he never did doubt you, even when you were corrupted by the Fire of Hate."

Sprx felt a sharp sting in his heart, as if someone had stabbed him right through the chest. "Don't compare me to that silver freak." He has never heard himself sound so bitter, so revengeful. "We-you- almost _died_ by his hands that night."

Then, without taking a glance back, the red primate stalked out of the engine room, leaving Nova to wonder when everything had gone so wrong.

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 **II: Secret**

Chiro sat inside Antauri's chambers while the silver monkey helped to wrap a bandage around the light purple bruise that had blossomed on his chest during the attack. He watched as Antauri's fingers nimbly rolled the bandage around his wound neatly, dancing lightly above his skin.

"Y'know Antauri," Chiro sighed, "it's just a small bruise. Besides, you need to recharge before the probe comes."

Hearing the teenager's voice, Antauri tied the two ends of the bandages into a neat knot. "The bruise might seem insignificant, but that does not mean that we will leave it untreated."

The teenager grabbed a bottle of antiseptic cream on the floor and played with it in his hands. "Yea, but your recharge..." He protested weakly, knowing that he would never win an argument with Antauri. The silver monkey looked up to him and smiled. He picked up a fuel energy cell, opened up his back's small compartment, and locked the cell in place, before resuming his usual meditative position in the air.

Putting on his shirt quietly, Chiro debated in his head whether to tell his mentor about the strange ebbing in the power primate that had initially woken him up. After continuous weighing of the pros and cons, he finally decided to discuss the matter with Antauri, knowing that there wasn't any use in trying to hide. Antauri would have sensed it sooner or later, anyway. Chiro smiled fondly at that thought. _Ever the wise monkey,_ he wondered to himself.

"Since tonight, has the power primate ever felt strange... to you?" He started, still playing with the cream, "like something is amiss?"

The silver monkey took a few minutes to think. "While I do sense that something is not right, I cannot really pinpoint what is causing this disturbance."

"Maybe it has something to do with the probe?" Chiro shrugged, but his lightheartedness quickly melted away when he saw a frown cross Antauri's features.

The silver monkey breathed in deeply, and exhaled in the same manner. He knew that he needed control here; the enemy that they were about to deal with demanded it. He could not afford for the silver monkey to put the team in peril again, or let others take advantage of this body. Strength was of utmost important right now.

"Chiro," Antauri began, "I need you to realize the seriousness of our situation- if the probe really is to show up, you must protect the robot, at all costs." He placed a hand on the teenager's shoulder, levitating down to his eye level. "There are... certain secrets of the robot in the silver monkey's mind, that Skeleton King can and _will_ exploit. This will mean the ultimate defeat for the Hyperforce in the war, and this is one fight that we cannot afford to lose." He paused, staring directly at his student in the eye. "There is something... that I have been meaning to tell you. Come."

Beckoning Chiro and leading him to the other end of his room, Antauri removed one of the hanging scrolls, which revealed a small, secret compartment camouflaged impressively with the light purple background of the wall. Activating one of his deep, violet claws, Antauri closed his eyes and concentrated. A green aura glowed around his hand as the small compartment popped open. Inside was a tiny, grey controller with a red button located in the middle. Chiro felt his eyes grow wide at the scene, staring with considerable confusion at the wall that Antauri had disassembled partially a few minutes earlier.

Chiro tried to speak, but realized that he couldn't find his voice. "...What is _that_?" he finally managed to squeak out lamely, still in awe.

Antauri hesitated for a moment. He picked up the grey controller and placed it onto Chiro's palm, before closing the teenager's fingers with his own.

"It is the key to silver monkey's... self destruct feature." He explained. "I want you to press the red button when the time is right."

Silences had always made Chiro uncomfortable, but this was a whole new kind of quiet- the kind where it made it hard to look straight, where the world around you was slightly spinning, and the pressure would be squeezing your lungs in a deathly tight grip, until you struggled to breathe.

"... _What_?" Chiro could hardly believe his ears as he looked down at the machine in his hand. " _Why?"_

At this point, he wasn't sure if he was only questioning Antauri.

After everything, they were still _protectors,_ weren't they? And weren't warriors prepared to die even if it meant a noble and rightful death? Chiro felt sick- he couldn't stomach the thought of losing Antauri _again,_ not after what they had been through. That night, when Skeleton King had first declared war on Shuggazoom, he had sworn to himself that as leader of the Hyperforce, everyone was going to get through this, alive. He wasn't going to back down then, and he wasn't planning to anytime soon.

By now, Antauri was already standing on the floor, his posture straight, and his eyes serious, but when he spoke, his voice came out soft and gentle. "For the team... and Shuggazoom City."

Chiro lets his thoughts adjust to this new revelation before speaking."I'm not sure how to _feel_ about this." The black haired boy finally admitted, tightening his grip around the controller and glancing with shock into the small stream at his reflection. He hesitated slightly before continuing, taking a few moments to convince himself that the monkey beside him would not feel impatient at what he said next. "I mean, how does this even work- why is there even such a feature in the first place?"

"Hmm," Antauri standing next to him muttered, also looking into the stream but focusing on the boy's reflection rather than his. "Well, Chiro," he added after a moment's silence, his voice gentle and understanding, as Chiro had hoped that it would sound, "I found it after you transferred my soul into this body. The Alchemist had created this function as an extra precaution. He saw that the silver monkey would be vulnerable to evil's control, so he added this for Captain Shuggazoom to use, in case the silver monkey was being manipulated for... _other_ purposes."

It took a lot of time to absorb this information, all at once. Their eyes locked for a moment, but Chiro quickly looked away, scratching his head while trying to search for the right words to respond.

Sensing the boy's distress, Antauri continued, hoping to ease his anxiety. "Of course, I'm not saying that you _have_ to use it. However, when circumstances are grave and Skeleton King is close to obtaining confidential information about the robot..." he trailed off, thinking, letting the sentence hang in the air. "On the upper hand, though, when you do press the button, the silver monkey's body would be capable of destroying everything within a five meter radius."

Chiro felt a hand rest softly on his shoulder, and he looked up to see his mentor's reassuring smile. He, again, had to look into the other's deep blue orbs to convince himself that he would not feel impatient at what he was going to say next.

"So, you're saying that your body is essentially a walking bomb?" Chiro snickered nervously, but his laughter doesn't quite exactly reach his ears. "I'm sorry, Antauri, but I won't do it." He placed the controller back into the small compartment in the wall and walked away, never once looking back. "Let's just pretend that we never had this conversation, okay?"

Knowing the child's stubbornness, Antauri frowned, but said nothing. Chiro sat down in front of a stream, placed his hand in the water and played with a red koi fish, trying to calm his nerves. Feeling guilty that he had placed such a heavy burden on his student, Antauri walked over and joined his side, ruffling his hair playfully in an attempt to sooth the tense mood. Light blue puppy eyes stared back up and him, as they spent the few moments in a comfortable silence that hadn't shown itself in a very, very, long time.

 _A/N: Hi! So the next chapter's up and ready. I didn't expect to write it out so soon, but since I was at the hospital's waiting room last night and bored out of my life... so here you go! Also, please don;t pay much attention to the war part, I was really confused as to where this story takes place in the series, but since I wanted it to be after the Soul of Evil ep,it can only take place during the war but really that's not a very important detail, heheh._


	3. Growth, Creation, Stranded

**I: Growth:**

Crystallized dew upon the morning grass, heavy air thick with cold persuaded into swift action by misty warmth of breath, the trees naked of their green coats- apart from the evergreens which bitterly remained at all times in coattails and tie. An aging couple hugged tight, close and intimate in their sharing of heat beneath blankets in the driver's seat on the side of a road on Shuggazoom. Chiro stood at the edge of the robot's shoulder, breathed out into his chilled hands, and observed a white cloud form in front of him before it disappeared.

He realized that he had to start with himself.

Before anything grand could happen, he had to make a decision. A vow of dedication to his cause. His ideas. His path to reforming this city _._ He picked up a knife that he had always kept hidden in the neck of the robot— _heck, he had these things hidden all over the place just for emergencies—_ and walked back into the nearest room as the door locked itself behind him. Chiro realized that he was in the training centre. He smirked. _Perfect_.

It first began with the intention to blow off some steam that had accumulated itself in his limbs these past few weeks. He turned on the offense training systems and waited for it to whirr into life.

It was surprisingly hard to wield a knife properly, as he made experimental slashing movements in the air at an invisible target. Then he changed his grip, tightening his hold on the weapon as he spun it around and thrust it harder towards his right. Dimly aware of the sudden hush that befell the training room, Chiro turned to face his purple robotic opponent.

 _Level five offense training. Begin._

The buzzer sounded. Chiro moved.

The robot jerked, aside. The blow meant for its jaw whizzed by in a blur of knuckles. From the corner of his eye, it saw its opponent's arm begin in an upward trajectory. It ducked its head in time, and breathed out a sigh of relief as it sensed the dark hair boy's fist inches from its face. The robot sidestepped, whirled to face him. Its opponent lunged. It avoided one flying kick, only to collide with another. The blow knocked it off its balance, the sharp sting fading fast as it recovered quickly. In front of it, Chiro grinned and jabbed again at its midsection, this time with a knife.

Block. Shove away. Back off.

Avoidance was simple, but it couldn't last forever. Minutes passed with no contact as Chiro gasped for breath, flicking the sweat off his forehead. He went on the offensive yet again, sending attacks with greater force than before. When the robot blocked all his actions, Chiro tried with both hands- one, two, Sol's technique- and this time, he hit the robot's mechanical heart before ripping it out from its system.

 _Level five offense training. New record. Three minutes and forty seconds._

The robot was pulled back into the system before the whole thing shut down automatically. _Too easy,_ Chiro thought as he wrapped a red towel around his neck and made his way out of the room, pocketing the knife in his pants. He was barely two steps away when the ground beneath him shook violently. Losing his balance, the teenage boy leaned against the nearest wall for support and looked around with confusion before his communicator turned on.

"Chiro," Nova's voice sounded urgent, and far more serious than her usual, cheerful tone, "we're under attack. He's here."

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 **II: Creation**

The figure standing on the screen filled her with dread. Even with a different form, she knew who it was without even needing to take a second glance. Neat, green hair, stuck to his sides, the muscular jaw, and those eyes on the torso of a black robot, no bigger than TV monster. Nova could never seem to erase those frightful green eyes from her memory, no matter how many times she tried. Silently taunting, mocking, scorning at her, while remaining emotionless all the same. Beside her, Gibson typed furiously away at the computer, his fingers flying over the keyboard in a blur.

"Gibson!" Nova cried out as she saw the enemy walk closer, readying his next attack, "can't the shield activate any faster!"

The scientist knew that it wasn't a question.

"We haven't fully fixed it yet," his demeanor was calmer than hers, but she could hear the slight panic in his voice, "I'm trying my best to get the wired connections to work again."

After a few moments of unsuccessful rewiring on Gibson's part, Otto popped out from under a big heap of cables, his fur dulled by light traces of soot. He shot his teammates a thumbs up.

"All done!" He piped in cheerfully, "Just press the yellow button!"

Gibson's eyebrow twitched, annoyance bubbling up in him. "That is absurd and will absolutely not work. Did you think that I would really be so dense as to overlook such a measly detail earlier-"

Nova shot him a glare. Still slightly hesitant, Gibson sighed in final defeat and used his tail to follow Otto's instructions, crossing his arms. A blue energy shield appeared in front of the robot just in time to block out several giant arrows sent flying directly towards its torso. The arrows bounced harmlessly off the shield and fell to the ground in a broken heap, to which the probe snarled. Nova let out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding.

"What's our status?" Chiro asked as he ran into the command centre in hypermode, followed by Antauri and Sprx.

"We managed to set up our defense for now," Otto replied, assessing the probe's weapons carefully, "but the Super Robot's shield won't last long with these kind of attacks."

"How long do we have?"

The green primate rubbed his chin. "Around... twenty minutes?"

Chiro smiled. "Alright, just enough time to make a plan. Monkey team, gather."

As everyone took their places in their respective egg-shaped seats, only Chiro remained standing in front of the command centre's screen. He paused the footage and zoomed in onto the probe's mechanical body until every detail was clear, his back turned towards the expectant monkeys who were waiting for a command.

"Any weak points that you can identify, Gibson?" Chiro looked towards the blue primate, who was already scrutinizing the image, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Gibson shut his eyes, thinking hard. "Negative," he responded after a moment of silence, "the probe's system is far more advanced than I had imagined... it's nearly foolproof from the outside. There are no visible weak points, yet."

Sprx tilted his head in puzzlement. "Yet?"

The scientist looked up, pointing toward the probe's body. "As you can see, his physical armor is impenetrable, but," he continued to explain, "if we can locate the armature inside him which is most likely powered by magnetic cranial nerves, then we may stand a chance of winning."

"So basically, if we destroy his core, we destroy him completely," Nova spoke slowly, digesting his words in her brain, "can you perform a scan on his body?"

Otto beamed proudly, jumping up excitedly from his seat. He ran toward the screen and stood beside Chiro, adjusting a few controls. "I added this feature last week," he proudly declared when the picture of the probe turned fully dark, and only fluorescent lighting outlining weirdly odd shapes lit up on the screen, "it basically works like X-rays. But instead of sending high frequency x-ray pulses to illuminate calcium in the bones, this kind of electromagnetic radiation that we're using enables us to see through what makes up a robot!"

The rest of the team stared in awe as they watched their mechanic busy tuning the various controls, while the image on the screen gradually became clearer, until a full internal structure of the probe could be seen. Otto let out a sigh of relief as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, dizzy from the excitement of the success of his new scanner. Pointing toward a dome-shaped object inside the probe's head, the green monkey beamed. "That's the core."

Only breathing could be heard as everyone tried to process the new information inside their heads. Chiro knew that they needed a good strategy here- this was no ordinary villain that they could defeat simply by force.

Sprx was the first to break out from his train of thought. "So, if Gibson says that the probe's armor is impenetrable, and we have to destroy that _core_ inside him _,"_ he pointed toward the screen to prove his point, "doesn't that mean we have to attack from the _inside?"_

Nova took some minutes to think before adding on. "That means we need some kind of device that can transport us... _into_ the probe."

Gibson smirked, walked toward his lab and wheeled out a cloak covered object just about as tall as he is. Four pairs of curious eyes were locked onto him as he took off the white cloth, revealing a shiny, silver, blade-less fan. Or at least, Chiro thought that it looked like a blade-less fan- a circular tube mounted on a pedestal, and the shallow tube only being few inches deep.

Placing his hands on his hips, the scientist pressed one of the buttons on the device and elaborated.

"Otto and I have been working on this project over the past few weeks, building a teleportation-like machine. To put it simply, it transports matter into the subconsciousness of any living thing, similar to... Gyrus Krinke's invention." Gibson cleared his throat uncomfortably at the mention of Krinkle's name. "Since the probe's electronic wiring is so extraordinarily unique, it is safe to assume that he possesses a cognizance of his own as well. However, this invention is not yet complete. It may interfere with the space-time continuum of this world."

Antauri pondered over Gibson's words. "What are the odds of success?"

Before the blue monkey could reply, the robot shook violently, throwing everyone off from their positions and onto the floor. Chiro hurriedly got up to his knees and switched the camera back to live mode. What he saw made him unable to suppress a shudder that travelled up his spine, paralyzing his entire being temporarily.

The probe, floating in the air directly in front of the robot's head, had not only successfully managed to penetrate the shield, but on the ground beneath him were thousands of formless minions, all ready to attack. Another violent earthquake-like tremor assaulted the hyperforce as the probe unleashed another missile. "Surrender," he stated, stoic as ever, "struggle is futile."

The dark haired teenager gritted his teeth as he regained his balance. "Gibson!" He ordered, helping the fallen blue monkey beside him back onto his feet, "There's no time to think. We'll use your invention!"

The scientist nodded. "Alright. Otto, lock a target onto the probe and connect it to teleporter. I'll start the rebooting process so power is fully charged."

The green monkey concentrated on the screen, and had to pull a lever several times before he could manage to latch on an accurate trajectory at the moving enemy in front of him. Chiro helped him to grasp onto the controls so the lock wouldn't deactivate. Antauri and Gibson connected all the necessary wires into the computers while Nova and Sprx shot eyebeams at the formless that got a little too close to the robot. It took a few minutes for Gibson to finally manage to get a connection, but finally he flipped on the switch of the teleporter, bracing for impact.

"It should work in about..." He began slowly. "Three..."

A bright beam of white light shot out from the circular tube of the teleporter, engulfing the room.

"Two..."

Otto grabbed onto Gibson's arm nervously for comfort while the probe outside immediately sensed that something was wrong.

"One."

And all Chiro could remember was seeing a glaring light blind his vision and hearing a bloodcurdling scream from the probe. He felt his body becoming lighter, and lighter, and lighter, like a piece of leaf floating aimlessly on a tranquil ocean.

But that was all before he felt himself disappear into darkness.

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 **III: Stranded**

The first thing he noticed was how numb his fingers were from the cold, and how he wasn't in the robot anymore.

The dark haired teenager let out a small cough, eyelids fluttering open to reveal light blue irises. He tried sit up, only to find out that his head was pounding painfully before he flopped back down onto the ground, shivering. The sky- or what he thought looked like a sky- was completely dark, decorated with grey clouds floating on its surface. Chiro unconsciously moved closer to the source of heat beside him, trying to collect more warmth to-He paused.

 _Source of heat?_

Glancing around, he realized that it was a small campfire crackling only a few feet away from him. Trying to figure out what was going on, Chiro once again tried to sit up, but it had only made the pounding in his head worse. He groaned in frustration.

"You should try to get some rest first." He heard a familiar voice. "It will take some time before I can get the shelters fully set up."

Antauri. Or at least, it sounded like Antauri. He looked around again to confirm his suspicions.

Indeed, his eyes soon landed a silver silhouette bent over a round lodge made of wood, structured like a tipi, with an addition of a solid doorway. It was thatched with grass and mats, and buried in a thick coat of leaf litter to make it waterproof. Beside the shelter were a few round, brown shells of coconuts filled with transparent liquid, and fruits which looked all too unfamiliar to him.

Chiro chuckled, in awe at his mentor's craftsmanship. "Is there anything you _don't_ know how to do?"

Even with Antauri's back toward him, he could see the silver monkey smirking. "I believe that Nova has taught you basic outdoor survival skills before, no?"

It took tremendous effort for Chiro to put two and two together, with his headache growing worse every second. "You mean we're in a jungle?"

"On an island, to be exact," Antauri explained, picking up more wood to make the finishing touches for the shelter, "inside the probe's subconsciousness. I assume this is where his people had been first created."

He pointed towards the ground, and Chiro's eyes grew wide at what he saw. There were scattered parts of machinery everywhere- used up batteries, occasional oil leaks, alternate current motors, bolts and screws- He didn't think he had seen so much electronic junk in his life before, rivaled only by Scrapperton's collection.

Chiro looked towards Antauri, then realized that they were alone. With all the strength he could muster, Chiro got to his feet, and bent down to pick up a burning log of wood from the campfire before walking inside the shelter. The silver monkey got up as well, gathered a couple of coconuts into his arms and followed Chiro inside.

"Where are the rest?" The teenager asked, his voice cracking as he leaned against the wall for support. He could feel whatever strength he had left slipping away.

"Somewhere on this island, I suppose, when Gibson's invention thwarted the space time continuum." Antauri frowned, scooting closer toward Chiro until they were only a few inches apart. He placed a metallic hand on the teenager's forehead, which felt cool against the burning hot skin.

"You have a fever," the silver monkey's frown deepened, eyes flooded with concern, "you should lie down."

Before Chiro could respond, Antauri was already using his telekinesis to gather a pile of leaves to make a small bed, while his hands were busy with cracking a full coconut. Chiro tried to speak, but his throat itched and clamped up. He sighed in resignation.

When Antauri moved the temporary bed in front of Chiro, the teenager could feel an invisible force laying him down gently on the ground until his back hit the soft pile below. He tried to seat up, but his body was as heavy as lead. He couldn't get any of his limbs to move. Chiro struggled again.

"Antauri," he finally managed to rasp out when the silver monkey sat in front of him, passing him half a coconut, "I can't just rest and leave you alone, not when the probe is still out there on this island." He took a sip of the cool juice from the husk, letting it sooth his burning throat. "I mean, this is his subconsciousness, right? He has to have a physical form in here as well, just like us."

The silver monkey took a moment to think. "While the possibility is high that there is a threat roaming around," he took a look at Chiro's weak frame, and smiled reassuringly at his leader, leaning forward to dab the teenager's forehead with a damp leaf two times bigger than his own palm, as a makeshift cloth, "we cannot fight in this condition. Not when you can barely even stand. So rest for now, Chosen One."

Chiro felt the world around him get darker as he lifted a hand to grab Antauri's metallic one in a protective manner. "I'm not letting go," he protested stubbornly, leaning onto his side,"but promise me you'll be here when I wake up?" His voice came out softer than a whisper, and before Antauri could reply, he gave himself in to sleep that overtook his whole being.

The silver monkey chuckled and watched Chiro's breathing slowly get deeper with each passing minute. This boy, their leader, who was only at the tender age of fifteen, had matured far too quickly for someone of his age. Antauri couldn't blame him, no, not when he had been through obstacles that even grown men struggled overcome. The silver monkey separated his hand gently from the boy's and wrapped his arms over Chiro's thin frame in a temporary hug of comfort before stationing himself outside to keep watch for the rest of the night.

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 _A/N: Done! Hope you guys enjoyed it. Just a heads up, the story is already about at its halfway point, so it shouldn't drag on for too many chapters. Thank you for reading!_


	4. Attack

**I:Attack:**

Chiro awoke from his rest with a start, and realized that Antauri was missing beside him. He saw that the fire on the log from their previous night had burnt out completely, and only a thin trail of white smoke arose from its charred black tip. He also noticed that the usual scarf around his neck was gone. He looked down at his hands- no gloves. He was out of hypermode. Someone must have powered him down when he was unconscious. Startled, Chiro bolted up from the ground and sprinted outside, only to find the silver monkey gathering a bunch of fruit and laid them neatly, on a leaf, beside him.

Chiro let out a breath of relief seeing that his mentor was alright.

Sensing that his leader had awoken, Antauri turned around and smiled, before levitating towards him and placing a few ripe, purple berries onto his palm.

"Do eat this," he said gently, "Gibson once told me that elderberries have incredible medicinal properties for flu."

Chiro scanned the foods in his hand and squeezed one of them between his fingers. Soft, mushy, and very purple. "I've never seen these before," he said curiously before popping one into his mouth, "hmm, sweet and sour at the same time."

"Glad you like it," the silver monkey replied and hovered to Chiro's eye level, placing a hand his forehead, "looks like your fever has gone down."

Chiro nodded and walked to the fruit pile, grabbing a coconut and cracking it open. He passed half to Antauri, who was levitating behind his shoulder. Smiling, Antauri gratefully accepted the offer.

"You look like you haven't slept at all last night." Chiro observed as he drank the sugary liquid. Feeling the cool juice finally flow down his parched throat, it was like being in heaven.

The silver monkey paused and looked at Chiro curiously. "How did you know?"

He tapped a hand to his chin, a habit Antauri recognized whenever Chiro was thinking. "Your movements are slower than usual," he pointed out, "and not to mention that there are dark circles under your... eyes?" The dark haired boy paused, realizing what he had said. He looked over to his mentor and raised a hand to gingerly touch the dark spot under Antauri's blue orbs.

"How is that possible," he breathed out, amazed, "Antauri this is awesome! I think that over these past few weeks your body is starting to become more... organic! Do you know what this means?"

His brain quickly connected all the dots and he cannot help but grin at the outcome. "That means that you're becoming more like the others now! Now nobody can say that you're a machine anymore!"

Antauri kept his gaze straight.

"I can't say that I am very different from the others to begin with." He placed a hand on his torso, and continued. "At the very least, what defines a machine as fully mechanical is their inability to feel emotions. No matter how advanced their wiring can be, a machine is merely another one of mankind's creations. It is made to follow and obey orders without their own will. However," Antauri paused, and Chiro could see his eyes softening, "the silver monkey has allowed me to continue and experience feelings of my own. For example, when you are sick, I feel worried and try to look for ways to cure you. When you are happy, I share the same joy, and when you are stressed out, I am willing to share the burden with you.

Ultimately, even though our bodies differ in composition, we really are more similar than we think."

Chiro ran his hand through his hair as he contemplated Antauri's words. "I guess so," he looked down at the ground longingly, shoulders sagging, "I just wish that the others will know that too."

"Fret not," Antauri replied gently and folded his hands onto his lap, "they will come to, eventually."

Chiro looked up at his mentor. Perhaps it would be wise to allow some time for the others to accept Antauri's new body. He watched as the silver monkey hovered back down onto the floor and resumed his work with the fruits. Sitting beside him, Chiro took the fruit from Antauri's hands and smiled reassuringly.

"I'll handle this," he said, "you need to get some rest."

Before Antauri could protest, Chiro shot him a concerned gaze. "We cannot fight in this condition," the teenager repeated playfully, mimicking Antauri's firm tone from the previous night, "so you need to deactivate and let your body recharge. Then, we can go and find the rest of the team."

"Maybe I have trained you a _little_ too well," Antauri chuckled, but stood up from the floor and made his way to the shelter, "I will let my energy cell recharge. Meanwhile, don't go wondering around, alright? We don't know what adversary is looming out there."

"Yea, sure," Chiro replied casually with a small wave, "I'll wake you up when something happens."

Hearing his mentor's footsteps getting more and more distant, Chiro concentrated on peeling inedible skin off the fruits. Sometimes Antauri tended to work too hard for his own good, so he had made sure long ago to keep an eye out for the second-in-command. It was another one of the mental notes he had added in his mind over the years to look out for his teammates- stop Otto if he ate more than two bags of candy, give Nova a comforting pat on the shoulder whenever her temper shot up, or bring Sprx supper on Thursdays because the red monkey would usually skip dinner for his weekly 9PM drama series.

It was all these traits which made each member unique in their own way, and Chiro had come to love all of them.

Just like how the sun slowly climbed the sky and light started beating down mercilessly on the dark haired teenager's back, time flew by as well. Since his hours weren't spent on thinking about their next battle strategy but instead gathering all the necessary supplies for survival, the afternoon came quicker than he realized. Chiro took a sip of water he had found in a nearby lake and wiped the sweat streaming down his forehead. Noticing that the temperature had risen considerably, he peeled off his red verst and walked inside the shelter for some shade.

The silver monkey's back was leaned toward one wall of the hut, sitting up straight. Its deep blue orbs were empty, and the back's compartment was open, revealing an energy cell connected to different colored wires. Even though there was no supply of electricity available, Antauri was able to recharge his energy cells using fuel stored inside the body- an upgrade that he had requested to Otto after they left Kathori in the safe hands- _paws-_ of Neekita and the rest of her clan.

It was a brilliant idea, and Otto immediately started working on upgrading the silver monkey. One thing that Chiro despised about the upgrade, however, was that Antauri had to be completely shut down once the process started. Seeing Antauri's eyes completely blank reminded him too much of the day that Antauri had fallen into the Dark One's egg, the day when Chiro thought that he had lost his second-in-command forever.

The memories of that day were haunting. The brutal stab by Mandarin, the loss of the Power Primate, and Antauri's sacrifice. Had his mentor not come back, Chiro is not sure if these wounds will ever heal.

The teenager gave himself a pinch on the cheek to prevent his mind from dwelling further into the memories. Everything that happened was in the past. Over. All he needed to do was to make sure it did not occur again. Chiro gazed at the silver monkey worriedly and curled his fingers into a fist.

After a short while, a soft, whirring noise resounded throughout the forest. An android, about a meter tall, emerged from the trees. Its glowing red eyes picked up an inhabited campsite, and traces of infrared radiation around a hut. It zoomed in onto the hut, spotting two figures inside. A tall outline of a boy, and a much shorter outline of another machine beside him. The android nodded in confirmation, and beckoned to the rest of its comrades. They slipped out of sight and into the bushes, an army of five hundred, crawling through them and toward the campsite.

 _Target spotted._

The sound of metal footsteps caught Chiro's attention. He pressed the badge on his chest for transformation and walked outside, assessing his surroundings cautiously. Nothing. He could have sworn he heard noise but-

A bullet whizzed past, nearly a few inches away from his shoulder.

The androids moved as one, revealing themselves. Slowly, they popped up from under the bushes, loaded ammunition into their metallic arms, and aimed directly at Chiro.

 _Threat detected. Target locked on._

Chiro licked his dry lips and realized that the android bodies were of similar colors of what the Probe once used to look like- different shades of green. He was heavily outnumbered, surrounded in a circle, one against a few hundred. It was like fighting a losing battle, but he knew he couldn't retreat, not when Antauri was still defenseless. All he could do was hold them off until the silver monkey was fully charged.

Chiro felt around in his pocket and fished out a weapon. He gazed at the knife in his hand. The world has snapped into sharp focus. He could feel the breeze in his hair, and hear the locking of bullets. When he looked at an android, he saw his training opponent back in the Super Robot, and much less of an enemy.

He glided forward with the wind, not wasting even a fraction of a second. His steps are light on the grass. He will aim for the left torso. Not immediately fatal, but enough to paralyze the android and overheat its system, causing a slight explosion. He is five steps away now. Four. Three. On two, he stepped harder, picking up speed to add momentum to the blow. The android straightened up, but it was too late. Chiro thrusted the knife heavily into its body, and pulled out with the same strength.

He jumped up high enough to land on a nearby tree, barely able to avoid being blown up into a million pieces.

Chiro flinched as he saw a few of the android's surrounding comrades get burnt. He shook himself out of it, ran over to another opponent who was about to shoot, and repeated the same actions. Attack before being attacked was the wisest action he could partake in this situation. For now.

When he has destroyed about almost over a hundred of the androids, the first signs of muscle aches start to appear. Using both the knife and his powers took a heavy toll on his body. Panting for breath, Chiro started to aim for an opponent on his right when it dodged faster than he's ever seen something move. Its arm rockets into his stomach, the back of its other hand catching him across the cheekbone. Blue sky and green grass flip back and forth across his vision as he tumbled head over heels. When he gets back up, the back of his head is thudding painfully. Another heavy kick landed on his shoulder before he felt something penetrate through his left ankle.

A bullet.

It was a dull, deadened sensation as Chiro tried to move his injured foot. There was no pain, but he could sense that the bullet was deeply lodged into his bone, like his whole foot had been removed. Warm blood which seeped through the white fabric of his pants turned it crimson red. Chiro took one step forward, and fell down back onto the ground, unable to stand. He gritted his teeth. _Damn_.

"Chiro!"

Antauri's pupils flickered back into life as he saw his leader being assaulted by an army of androids. He quickly stood up and rushed to Chiro's side, activating a purple energy shield which formed a dome around them, just in time as a rain of bullets came splattering down.

"Antauri!" Chiro's eyes widened as he saw his mentor holding up the shield with a deep violet ghost claw. "You can't be out here! They're coming for _you!_ It's too dangerous!"

"I am not intending to leave you alone," the silver monkey replied, his eyes narrowing slightly in worry at the sight of Chiro's injury, "not with that wound."

Chiro felt his heart beat speed up as he watched Antauri strengthen the shield with another claw. The androids' attack became fiercer, drowning his head with noise. He swallowed. He couldn't lose Antauri, not again, not after he had worked so hard to get his second-in-command back.

"As your leader, that is an ORDER!"

Chiro's voice came out fierce and loud, a kind of tone he had never heard himself use before. Antauri hesitated for a fraction of a second, but firmed his resolve. There were orders he absolutely could not obey, and this was one of them.

"I-"

Before he could reply, the androids stopped shooting. At that moment, Antauri quickly deactivated his shield and picked Chiro up by the waist, jumping back a few feet away to put more space between them. Chiro got up shakily on his feet, and prepared to throw a lightning bolt at the enemies. What he didn't realize was one android which snuck up behind him. It raised one hand and landed a heavy blow on the teenager's head, knocking him out cold. Chiro felt his knees crumple underneath him and his whole body hit the ground, before being enveloped by darkness.

Antauri screeched in alarm.

The androids started to close in, like predators cornering their pray, hungry for bloodlust.

 _Threat injured. Must eliminate completely._

Knowing that he couldn't destroy them all, Antauri went on the defense. He got on all fours and crouched in front of Chiro's unconscious figure, baring his metallic fangs at the approaching enemies.

"You will not touch the boy," he growled threateningly in an animal-like manner, eyeing the enemy sharply, "I won't let you."

As one android raised its arm, Antauri instinctively moved closer toward Chiro. He bent lower down, just to offer more protection. The silver monkey dug his toes into the ground, and snarled fiercely at the approaching android.

 _Elimination process. Begin._

This time, thin, red lazer beams shot out of their eyes. Antauri barely had enough time to use his telekinesis to make another energy barrier as one beam almost penetrated through. It took everything in his power to strengthen the shield as the androids wasted no time in heightening their attack intensity into more forceful ones. Thicker red beams tried to permeate through Antauri's blockade to no avail, but the silver monkey knew he couldn't hold this up for long. He needed to find a blind spot for retreat, and he needed it _no_ w.

Thinking quickly, his eyes darted around for an opening, a small space, _anything,_ which could allow them to escape. He started to grow worried when there were no possible escape routes. The androids had them sealed shut in their offensive circle. If there was any way that he could-

"Surrender. And we will stop this. Elimination process."

A high pitched mechanical voice spoke up abruptly as all the other androids lowered their weapons in one swift motion . A taller, broader android – _the leader,_ Antauri presumed- made its way to the front of the circle. Antauri kept his shield up, just in case.

"Remove your defense. And the boy will remain. Untouched."

The silver monkey scoured his brain for the plausible consequences. None of the options seemed ideal, but they were backed into a corner. He hardly even had a choice in this situation. Taking a deep breath, he knew what he had to do.

"Chiro," Antauri whispered as he turned towards his leader, untying the scarf around his neck and quickly wrapped it on the wound to stop the bleeding, "I am so sorry."

The silver monkey withdrew his energy barrier. A second later he felt his arms being bound by heavy metal chains as the androids pushed him forward, ushering him to walk with them toward the forest. As a last resort, Antauri quickly sent out a signal- _successful_ this time- to the rest of the team using his antenna ears, and prayed silently that they would arrive soon.

 _Elimination process, halted. Target captured. Mission: Successful. Return back to base, now._

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 _A/N: This chapter is so heavily focused on Antauri/Chiro hmm. Other characters will show up in the next chap ;) I really love it when the monkeys are acting like... monkeys. It's adorable when they run on all fours. Also wanted to liken Antauri's maternal protective instincts to that of a wild animal (idk, lioness?) when she and her child are surrounded by predators. It just seems more natural this way when robot monkeys are pushed to the edge- they revert back to Nature's way of protecting their young. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this :) Thanks for reading!_


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